Moon Sea (1)

The moon had just peeped over the dark-blue mountain peak when pale silver light spilled across the upturned eaves of the bamboo house, falling over the corridor and blurring into a hazy glow.

The sky had darkened, though not yet sunk into complete blackness. The few plain paper lanterns beneath the eaves had long been lit, their warm yellow light seeping through thin paper and stretching the vine shadows coiled around the bamboo pillars into fine, long strands. The shadows entwined over Zhou Wan and Lin Huaixu, lending the scene a touch of warmth.

A cool mat lay spread across the bamboo floor of the corridor, and Zhou Wan sat at one side of it, a plain handkerchief draped over her knees.

A thread of pale green spiritual energy gathered at her fingertips, brushing gently over Lin Huaixu's head like a feather. His black hair still carried the damp vapor of a recent wash. Wrapped softly in her spiritual energy, it lifted slightly, while several droplets rolled from its ends and fell into the gaps between the mat and bamboo boards.

Lin Huaixu leaned half-reclined against a pillar in the bamboo corridor, his robes hanging loosely from his body. The fabric had already been thin, and now it looked even emptier. These past days, his injuries had required dietary restrictions. He could not touch greasy or spicy foods, could barely eat any pastries, and had relied on medicinal soup day after day to keep himself going. He had visibly lost a whole circle of weight.

On the exposed skin of his body, light brown cracks resembled the crazing on shattered porcelain, spreading all the way from his neck to his wrists. Even behind his ears hid several fine marks.

He kept every breath exceedingly light; any heavier breath would tug